The Department of State Services (DSS) has revealed that two of the men arrested over the deadly 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, were members of a foreign terrorist organization. The disclosure was made on Monday during the arraignment of five suspects before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja. Those arraigned were Idris Omeiza, Al-Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar. According to the charges filed, the suspects are alleged to have conspired with others to launch the June 5, 2022 assault, during which armed men stormed the Catholic…
Author: Abdoulaye Kay
A faith-based civil society organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has appealed to the Federal Government, states and parastatals to resist the temptation of doing business with Israel. The group criticized a deal between Nigeria and Israel’s foreign ministries involving forty startups in the country. MURIC argued that any business deal with Israel is a romance with a terrorist state. In a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC’s Founder and Executive Director, described the startups as vehicles of deception from a rogue genocidal state. The full statement reads: “On Monday, Israeli Deputy…
Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, has said the country spends $10 billion every year to import agricultural products like wheat and fish. Kyari shared this information during the 2025 Agric and Export Expo, organized by First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., on Tuesday in Lagos. The minister expressed concern about the high level of food imports and said more funding is needed for agriculture to help Nigeria export more food. Kyari was represented at the event by his Special Adviser, Mr. Ibrahim Alkali. He emphasized that increasing investment in agriculture is key to boosting Nigeria’s income…
The Warri Kingdom in Nigeria has commenced a seven-day celebration to mark the fourth coronation anniversary of His Majesty Ògíamè Atuwatse III, the Olu of Warri. The festivities opened with a thanksgiving service at the Palace Church in Aghofen, where members of the Iwere Nation gathered in prayers and songs of praise, celebrating what they described as four years of prosperous leadership under the monarch’s reign. The opening ceremony combined worship with collective prayers, as attendees sought continued wisdom, peace, and prosperity for the Warri Kingdom. The event also underscored the unity and strength that have defined the Itsekiri people…
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the temporary freezing of four Jaiz Bank accounts linked to the immediate-past Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr Mele Kyari, over allegations bordering on fraud. Justice Emeka Nwite made the order after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s lawyer, Ogechi Ujam, moved an ex-parte motion to that effect. Ujam told the court that investigations were still ongoing and that the commission would need some time to conclude its findings. Justice Nwite, therefore, held that the application was meritorious and accordingly granted. “I have…
Northwest University, Sokoto, has commenced admission into its various programmes for the 2025/2026 academic session. In a statement on Tuesday, the Registrar, Umar Mussa Garun Babba, said the institution is admitting qualified candidates into its fully accredited courses across five faculties and the College of Health Sciences. Available programmes under the College of Health Sciences include Medicine (MBBS), Nursing, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiography, Physiotherapy, Public Health, and Environmental Health. The Faculty of Computing and Sciences offers Computer Science, Software Engineering, Cyber Security, Information Technology, Biology, Chemistry, Industrial Mathematics, and Physics with Electronics. For Social and Management Sciences, courses include Business…
German firefighters have arrived in northern Spain to help combat the country’s most severe wildfires in decades. A total of 67 emergency personnel, along with 23 vehicles, have reached San Sebastián in the Basque Country, the fire brigade in Bonn said on Tuesday. The crew was expected to continue on to the fire-hit Extremadura region, which borders Portugal, later on Tuesday. One of the largest blazes was burning near the town of Jarilla in Extremadura, where around 15,000 hectares have already been destroyed. Portugal is also battling four major wildfires. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska…
The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has blacklisted seven Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) for failing to comply with guidelines on the use of Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) as equity contributions for residential mortgages. In a circular dated August 11, 2025, PenCom directed all Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs) to stop accepting or processing applications from contributors seeking to use part of their RSA balances as equity contributions through the affected mortgage institutions. The blacklisted mortgage banks The institutions barred from the scheme are Jigawa Savings & Loans Limited, FHA Mortgage Bank Limited, Delta Trust Mortgage Bank Limited,…
An accident in Angwan Mayo, Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, on Monday morning, August 18, 2025, thwarted a gang of suspected kidnappers shortly after they had collected ransom from their victims. According to reports, the suspects were fleeing in an Opel Vectra—registration number Plateau BLD 566 ST—when the vehicle lost control near a Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) checkpoint and crashed. The two occupants fled immediately, abandoning the car at the scene . A vigilant VIO officer initially recovered a G3 rifle and cash from the wrecked vehicle and handed them over to the police. The vehicle was towed…
In a new memoir titled Beyond Expectations, Newswatch founding editor Yakubu Mohammed has finally broken his silence on long-standing conspiracy theories linking the assassination of his colleague, Dele Giwa, to the mysterious case of Gloria Okon. Giwa, then editor-in-chief of Newswatch, was killed on October 19, 1986, by a parcel bomb delivered to his Lagos residence. Since his death, speculation has persisted that Giwa had been investigating the alleged death—or secret release—of Gloria Okon, a young woman arrested in Kano on drug-smuggling charges. Rumors claimed that Okon either died in custody or was secretly flown abroad because of her alleged…